How to Prepare Your Business for a Cyber Essentials Certification

Cybersecurity is no longer an option for businesses; it’s a necessity. With increasing threats from cybercriminals, achieving certifications such as Cyber Essentials ensures that your business has the necessary defences in place. Not only does it protect your data, but it also enhances customer trust and opens doors to new business opportunities, especially with clients requiring robust cybersecurity protocols.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to prepare your business for Cyber Essentials certification and highlight the key areas you need to focus on.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme designed to help businesses protect themselves from the most common types of cyber attacks. It covers five key areas of security, which we will go over shortly. Achieving certification proves that your company has taken essential steps to mitigate risks from online threats.

Certification comes in two levels:

Cyber Essentials – A self-assessment certification that demonstrates basic protection against cyber threats.
Cyber Essentials Plus – A more rigorous certification where an external assessor verifies your security measures.

Why Should Your Business Get Certified?

Protect Against Cyber Threats
Cyber Essentials ensures that your business is protected against common online threats, such as phishing, malware, and hacking attempts. It focuses on basic controls that can prevent around 80% of cyber attacks.
Build Trust with Customers
In today’s market, clients and partners want reassurance that their data is safe with you. Certification boosts confidence in your security measures and gives you a competitive advantage.
Meet Legal and Compliance Requirements
In some sectors, such as healthcare and government contracting, Cyber Essentials certification is a legal requirement. Even if it’s not mandatory, many businesses use it to demonstrate compliance with data protection regulations.

Preparing for Cyber Essentials Certification

Before starting the process, it’s important to ensure your IT infrastructure meets the certification’s requirements. Let’s break down the five control areas that Cyber Essentials focuses on:

1. Secure Your Internet Connection

Your business’s first line of defense is its firewall. Whether you’re using a dedicated firewall device or a firewall built into a router, ensure that it’s properly configured.

Best Practice: Use firewalls to secure your internet connection, and ensure default passwords have been replaced with strong, unique ones.
Tip: Regularly review firewall settings to block unnecessary services and ports.

2. Control Access to Your Data

Not everyone in your business needs access to all data or systems. Implementing user access controls helps prevent unauthorized access.

Best Practice: Set up role-based access controls (RBAC) to ensure users only have access to what’s necessary for their roles.
Tip: Review access rights regularly and remove access for employees who leave the company.

3. Secure Your Devices and Software

One of the core requirements of Cyber Essentials is ensuring that all devices (computers, laptops, mobile phones) are secure and running up-to-date software.

Best Practice: Enable automatic updates for all software and ensure that unsupported software is removed or upgraded.
Tip: Make use of mobile device management (MDM) software to secure mobile devices.

4. Keep Malware at Bay

Cyber Essentials requires that businesses protect themselves from malware, such as viruses and ransomware, which can infiltrate systems and cause extensive damage.

Best Practice: Use anti-malware software on all devices and ensure it’s configured to scan regularly and in real-time.
Tip: Consider advanced solutions like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) for real-time monitoring and response to threats.

5. Keep Your Software and Systems Up to Date

Cyber Essentials places a strong emphasis on patch management. Security vulnerabilities in outdated software can be exploited by attackers.

Best Practice: Set up a patch management policy to ensure all operating systems and software are updated regularly.
Tip: Ensure unsupported software (e.g., Windows 7) is removed from your network.

Steps to Certification

1. Perform a Gap Analysis

Before applying for Cyber Essentials, conduct a gap analysis of your current IT infrastructure. This will help you identify areas that don’t meet the certification requirements and prioritize remediation efforts.

2. Implement Necessary Changes

Once you’ve identified gaps, implement the necessary security measures to bring your systems in line with Cyber Essentials standards. This may involve updating policies, configuring firewalls, deploying anti-malware software, or adjusting user access controls.

3. Self-Assessment Questionnaire (Cyber Essentials)

For the basic Cyber Essentials certification, you’ll need to complete a self-assessment questionnaire. This form asks questions about the five key security controls discussed earlier. Ensure you answer each question accurately, as this will determine whether or not you pass.

4. Certification Audit (Cyber Essentials Plus)

For Cyber Essentials Plus, you will need to undergo a more thorough audit by a third-party assessor. They will test your systems to verify that the necessary security measures are in place and functioning correctly.

Maintaining Cyber Essentials Certification

Certification is not a one-time event. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, so it’s crucial to keep your IT systems and policies up to date. Here’s how you can maintain your certification and keep your business protected:

Regular Security Audits: Conduct routine audits to ensure your cybersecurity measures are still effective.
User Awareness Training: Educate your employees about the latest cybersecurity threats and how they can help protect the business.
Update Policies and Procedures: As your business grows or new threats emerge, make sure your cybersecurity policies and procedures evolve as well.

Conclusion

Preparing for Cyber Essentials certification not only helps you protect your business from common cyber threats but also builds trust with customers and partners. By following the steps outlined above and focusing on securing your internet connection, controlling access, and keeping systems updated, you can ensure a smoother path toward certification.

Achieving Cyber Essentials certification signals to the world that your business takes cybersecurity seriously. For businesses looking to go a step further, Cyber Essentials Plus offers even more peace of mind with an external audit verifying your defenses.

Are you ready to start your Cyber Essentials journey? At Tier 3 Solutions, we specialize in network security and compliance. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you achieve certification and secure your business from cyber threats.